Tim Minchin reveals his next big idea for a musical
The comedian and composer joined Simon Mayo
Tim Minchin, the highly-acclaimed composer, comedian and songwriter joined Simon Mayo on Greatest Hits Radio to chat about his new album, tour, book and what he could be working on in the future.
Not only has Tim just released a new album called 'Time Machine', he has recently been on tour in the UK where he wowed fans with performances of his songs along with stories looking back on his impressive career.
The tour: 'Songs The World Will Never Hear'
Tim has now finished his UK tour called 'Songs The World Will Never Hear' and opened up about turning 50 in a few weeks time: "I feel pretty good, actually," he admitted.
"I've really enjoyed this tour and I feel physically strong and something about this age, there's lots of reasons why people say you feel good in your 50s, but one thing is I've got kids who are 18 and 16 and I think they're alright! I think they're going to be good."
The book: 'You Don't Have to Have a Dream'
Speaking to Simon, Tim opened up about his book explaining why "comparing yourself to others is poison". The book, which was released in 2024, is made up of three speeches and four essays, and as Tim explains: "One reason the book exists is one of speeches, the 2013 UWA (University of Western Australia) speech, went bonkers viral."
He went on to say: "But incredibly often, people say you made that speech. You're the guy that made that speech. I mean, it's amazing because as I just wrote it the day before, and yeah, I think you're exactly right, often it's older people with kids who just go, 'how do I speak to this kid who seems so lost and so desperate to be something that they don't know what they want to be?' And I think the book becomes a proxy for knowing what to say in that moment."
Tim continued: "One thing I should say about this book is it's ‘notes to self’ all these ideas are not like I've nailed this. It's more like that one comparing yourself to others as poison or define yourself by what you love. Don't be pro stuff, not anti stuff. This is stuff I've learnt I have to remind myself of because I am naturally terrible at going, ‘is that just my stuff as good as that?’ 'Should I be more like that?
"It’s very pervasive, you know, but the other thing I would say about comparing yourself to others is poison. And I mean, that's in the Bible, that's all the way back in every philosophy anyone with any wisdom has always said that. And yet we've invented this machine that basically kids all day, spend all day just looking at other people, having what seems like a better life than them. I mean that’s poison upon poison, you know. And that hadn't really taken when I made the speech in 2013."
The album: 'Time Machine'
Tim has just released his latest album 'Time Machine', featuring a song called 'Not Perfect'. The songwriter told Simon all about his decision to release the album.
Following his debut studio album, 'Apart Together,' Tim found himself in a peculiar situation as he had written countless songs since his teens, that had yet to see the light of day in a studio album format.
"After 'Apart Together' did so well, I felt the urge to release another album," Tim explained. However, with so many songs in his back catalogue that hadn't been released, the songwriter sent them to his record label hoping they'd put them on a streaming service for him. After listening to the demos he explained: "They said, ‘Tim, this is a record, this is a really interesting project. Right, you should give it the time and space'.
"You should promote it and so here I am, a year later promoting the thing. And I'm proud of it, but it's a bit of a weird one because people like, why did you put this out now? And I'm like, I just recorded those songs and now we're talking about it. But I do understand that it's an interesting document."
What is Tim Minchin working on next?
With such a varied career, Simon was keen to know what Tim might be working on next, and while he didn't give away too many details, he said he'd be having a few days off before he starts writing some stage musical projects.
After Simon suggested some he could work on, including 'Princess Bride' and 'The Exorcist', Tim admitted to having 'an amazing idea for a musical' the other day.
While it started off as a joke, Tim revealed: "Do you know I had an idea for a musical... The story of the making of the movie of Cats The Musical… The Musical. I just had that idea the other day and I had it as a joke and I thought that is actually… a musical about the making of Cats The Musical The Movie, is an amazing idea for a musical.
"It’s meta as hell, very magical meta Mephistopheles."
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